Manufacturer Showcases Abstract Aircraft Concept Revisions During 2025 Summit

On day two of Airbus’s annual Summit, the manufacturer shared updates to its path towards hydrogen-powered commercial aviation. While the project has been set back at least a few years, Airbus is still working to explore concepts and finalize broad details for its ZEROe aircraft.

Airbus first debuted the ZEROe project in 2020, primarily aiming to explore two hydrogen propulsion sources: hydrogen combustion and hydrogen fuel cells. Initially, it shared three aircraft concepts powered by hydrogen combustion and hybrid engines, plus a fully electric fourth that used hydrogen fuel cells and a propeller. The latter took the stage with a successful demonstration in late 2023 and pushed through end-to-end testing in 2024.

Earlier this year, Airbus announced that it would be moving forward using hydrogen fuel cell technology as its primary propulsion method for the concept aircraft. It partnered with Air Liquide Advanced Technologies to combat liquid hydrogen handling and in-flight distribution challenges, expecting to conduct integrated flight testing in 2027 at Munich’s Electric Aircraft System Test House.

Hydrogen power has proven to be a rocky path for the mega manufacturer, requiring it to not only conceptualize and market a hydrogen-powered aircraft, but also develop “a hydrogen ecosystem – including infrastructure, production, distribution and regulatory frameworks” that require “global collaboration and investment.”

As a result, during the Airbus Summit 2025 in Toulouse, Airbus confirmed that it would be pushing the project back an undisclosed amount from its initially planned entry-to-service date in 2035. The delay will allow Airbus to reassess the design’s commercial viability and wait for the industry to catch up through associated technological innovations and revised regulatory framework.

“Hydrogen is at the heart of our commitment to decarbonise aviation. While we've adjusted our roadmap, our dedication to hydrogen-powered flight is unwavering,” commented Bruno Fichefeux, Airbus’s Head of Future Programs. “Just as we saw in the automotive sector, fully electric aircraft powered by hydrogen fuel cells have the potential in the longer term to revolutionise air transport for the better.”

The manufacturer also shared a revision to its aircraft concept, chopping the number of 2-megawatt electric propulsion engines to four from the original six.

FMI: www.airbus.com